Vitamin D With Calcium Decreases Mortality Risk in Older People taken from Medscape

CLINICAL CONTEXT
According to the current study by Rejnmark and colleagues, maintenance of adequate vitamin D status may be necessary for many physiologic functions, beyond that of the classic actions of vitamin D on bone and mineral metabolism. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have linked reduced vitamin D status with a number of cancers, adverse cardiovascular and immunologic outcomes, and increased all-cause mortality rates, although some observational data have suggested either U-shaped or reverse J-shaped relationships. Meta-analyses have shown contradicting results for the role of calcium and vitamin D supplements on mortality.

This systematic review identifies individual patient data and trial-level meta-analyses to assess mortality risk among participants randomly assigned to either supplementation with vitamin D alone or vitamin D with calcium.